20:03 is actual swim time. Official 20:32 race time includes long run up hill to T1.

Wave was men 35+. Lined up in the front of the pack. Sprinted to get clear and was leading for first 200+ yards. Moderated pace. Wind and chop picked up and a couple of swimmers caught up and it got a little stressful. Got into a nice rhythm: 3 strokes, breath left, three strokes, breath right, one stroke, breath right, sight, three strokes, breath left, etc.

After rounding the first buoy, had a cool view of the pack coming out me like an angry mob before heading toward the next buoy.

What would you do differently?:

Nothing

Transition 1

01m 38s

Comments:

Long run up grassy hill to rocky transition area.
I added the difference between actual and official swim time to the official 1:09 transition time.

Poured down rain the entire time. Had to ease up on the downhills, particularly several that ended in tight turns. Spent a fair amount of time in the small ring on the up hills. Kept HR around 162 LT.
Drank one bottle of Infinit (231 calories) and a little water. Took Gu with about 4 miles to go.

What would you do differently?:

Drive the bike course ahead of time. Didn't really have time during the week to do this.
Could have used clear glasses to keep the rain out of my eyes.

Transition 2

00m 43s

Comments:

Got out of my shoes with 1 miles to go - right before the final hill. This wasn't that smart, but wasn't super costly. Rack was right by the Bike In entrance, so transition was speedy.

Felt good for first two miles. Breathing was ragged for the rest of the run. Legs felt tired. Tried to keep cadence up. Pushed to make sure last mile was sub 8 minutes.
Took Gu at halfway point and water at every mile.

What would you do differently?:

Push harder in the middle? Hard to say if that would have been sustainable.

Post race

Warm down:

Sat down for a little bit. Borrowed a Stick from the massage people and rolled my legs.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Rainy conditions

Event comments:

Started raining in the middle of the swim and never stopped. Came down really hard during the middle of the bike along with wind.

The metal grate bridge was a little harrowing, but we knew about it ahead of time. It was detailed in the Athlete's Guide, and there were signs on the road leading up to it. I just took it very slowly. I didn't start to fishtail until I tried to speed up a little to get momentum for the hill that followed.
All of the major intersections had two people handling traffic. I didn't have any issues. It helped that traffic was very light. I think I was passed by a single car on the entire course.
I honestly can't remember which climb was the toughest. The climb between miles 3-5 is the highest, and that's where my HR was the highest, but of course, I had fresh legs then . . .